ice on the inside of my new Gorell 5100

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windowchank
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2010 4:16 pm

ice on the inside of my new Gorell 5100

#1 Post by windowchank »

OK.. so my Gorell 5100's with EM3 glass were installed just before the new year. On some of the colder nights, I can feel a little cool air where the sashes meet and coming from the channels that the lower sash glides up and down in. Nothing crazy, definitely better than my old wood casements. I have extremely low humidity during winter in my home and we keep the heat at about 60-65, we struggle to keep the master bedroom at 35% with a humidifier.. obviously we have a little condensation on the windows in that room when the humidifier is running.

Two nights ago, we got down into the -20 to -30 range (coldest in 2 years) and I had full blown frost.. a lot of it on some of the windows in the house where the sashes meet and where the lower sash goes into the frame at the bottom.. should I be calling my installer on this or should this be expected when temps dip that crazily low?

In the interest of full disclosure, not all windows were replaced. I still have 3 double glazed casements with wood frames that look like block glass there is so much frost... 2 of which are about 72x60 with 3 windows and one is over the sink. I also have 2 newer wood frame Andersen sliding doors adjacent to each other on the main floor that had a decent amount of frost and leak quite a bit of air where the panels overlap, we have heavy drapes over those, (bought the house with those doors).

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HomeSealed
Posts: 2996
Joined: Mon Feb 15, 2010 3:46 pm
Location: Milwaukee, Madison, SE Wisconsin

Re: ice on the inside of my new Gorell 5100

#2 Post by HomeSealed »

Its hard to say what's acceptable in such extreme conditions.. What do you see when the temperture is 10-20*? You really should not feel any air movement though, so if you are, I'd recommend having your installer back out for a look.

TLHWINDOW
Posts: 295
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:20 pm
Location: North Florida

Re: ice on the inside of my new Gorell 5100

#3 Post by TLHWINDOW »

Agree with HS. Very hard to tell with such extreme tempertures to judge frost on the inside of the glass.

My opinion: I noticed you talked about the frames around the edges being frosted, but not the glass, so the glass seems to be doing its job. With such below freezing temps and for extended periods, you are likely to get some frost, especially on a 5100 due to its smaller frame size. Even if they are sealed you still can get cold to "creep" throught he vinyl, especially around the edges.

I would call your installer, just to make sure he thinks everything looks ok, and that there are no issues with the felt and gaps.

Although I agree that you shouldn't "feel" air, I have been in a few situations were its been so cold outside, and the customer keeps it so Hot inside, that even vinyl and insulated glass can completly stop a draft (and they had old doors and no wall insulation to speak of). But I'd have the installer check that out too.

windowchank
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2010 4:16 pm

Re: ice on the inside of my new Gorell 5100

#4 Post by windowchank »

at 10-20 degrees no ice whatsoever, no condensation except the windows in the room with the humidifier and that condensation never froze. Just the slightest amount of cool air coming from the channels in the frame where the lower sash glides and where the sashes meet. There are what look like bristles on the sides of the sahes, should I be able to see those?

Skydawggy.
Posts: 1193
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:29 pm
Location: Northern Virginia

Re: ice on the inside of my new Gorell 5100

#5 Post by Skydawggy. »

At those temperatures, I don't think there's anything wrong with the windows. -30 below zero, seriously??? I think you need to move to a warmer climate. I don't know how Human's can live in such a harsh environment. Brrrrrr............ :shock:

TLHWINDOW
Posts: 295
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:20 pm
Location: North Florida

Re: ice on the inside of my new Gorell 5100

#6 Post by TLHWINDOW »

windowchank wrote:at 10-20 degrees no ice whatsoever, no condensation except the windows in the room with the humidifier and that condensation never froze. Just the slightest amount of cool air coming from the channels in the frame where the lower sash glides and where the sashes meet. There are what look like bristles on the sides of the sahes, should I be able to see those?

You should be able to see the felt, but they should be fairly tight with the vinyl, and no large gaps (1/16th of an inch? maybe).

If they are nice and tight, then they should be fine.

If you are getting air in the window cavity, then you might want to have that checked out. I can't remember if the 5100's came with chiminey blocks or not.

windowchank
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2010 4:16 pm

Re: ice on the inside of my new Gorell 5100

#7 Post by windowchank »

guys, thanks for the help... -30 is definitely ridiculous and not the norm. Our cold stretch is maybe a week hovering around 0-5 with some weeks single to double digits and lows at night in the 0 range and that is only a couple weeks at that. Most of the winter is teens and low 20's.

fenestrationman
Posts: 59
Joined: Thu Jun 25, 2009 3:15 pm

Re: ice on the inside of my new Gorell 5100

#8 Post by fenestrationman »

All Gorell hung products have chimney blocks.

buddy11
Posts: 780
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2009 6:48 pm
Location: Lower Hudson Valley NY

Re: ice on the inside of my new Gorell 5100

#9 Post by buddy11 »

I'm going to agree with what has been said. At these temps it's not abnormal to observe some cold spots at the meeting rails. My Lowe366 glass had a small amount of frost the other morning when it was -20 and I can feel cold spots as well.

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